Love Contract
by Phantom Sumire
Summary: It's not because he's nice, rich and drop dead gorgeous or anything. She only agreed to the contract because he said he'd help her find her long lost brother.


**Please note:** I have decided to write this story in third-person point of view so I changed the previous chapter to third-person. But no need to go back to see as I have only changed the POVs from first to third-person. Yeah, I really do need to plan ahead before writing a story. I make a bad writer.

And a future apology (bows in a very traditional way) for all grammatical errors. I do try to catch every one of them but I still doubt I caught all of them. Tsk, damn them. . .If you find one, tell me and I'll fix it asap.

The Red String of Fate, does that ring any bell to you? Have you ever heard of it? If not, then read on. If so, then still read on...just in case if you need to refresh your memory on what's it about.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I google'd the info about the red thread.

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**~o0o~**

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**Chapter 1  
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**The Red Thread of Destiny  
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According to this myth, the gods tie an invisible red string around the ankles of men and women who are destined to be soul mates and will one day marry each other.

_"An invisible thread_

_connects those who are destined to meet,_

_regardless of time, place, or circumstance._

_The thread may stretch or tangle,_

_but it will never break."_

- said the old Chinese belief.

Stories relevant to the famous ancient myth, the red thread, was what her mother would always tell her for a bedtime story.

One story featuring the red string of fate involved a young boy. Walking home one night, a young boy saw an old man standing beneath the moonlight. The old man explained to the boy that he was attached to his destined wife by a red thread. Yue Xia Lao, the deity of the red string, showed the boy his destined wife, a young girl. Being young and no interest in having a wife, the young boy picks up a rock and threw it at the girl, running away. Many years later, when the boy had grown into a young man, his parents arranged a wedding for him. On the night of his wedding, his wife awaited him in their bedroom, with the traditional veil covering her face. Raising it, the man was delighted that his wife was one of the great beauties of his village. However, she wore an adornment on her eyebrow. He asked her why she wears it and she responded that when she was a young girl, a boy threw a rock at her that struck her, leaving a scar on her eyebrow. She self consciously wears the adornment to cover it up. The woman was in fact, the same young girl connected to the man by the red thread shown to him by Yue Xia Lao back in his childhood.

Of course, Kaoru had already heard of the stories. After all, it was a daily routine at her kindergarten to tell the class stories right before nap time, be it mythology or fairy tales. But she didn't mind hearing it the second time, especially when it was the person dearest to her telling the story.

Each night she would welcome her mother with an innocent and excited look on her face, despite already having the knowledge what the story would be. And after each story, she would wear an astounded face in front of her mother, making it look like she had heard the story for the first time.

She never felt a slight of guilt though, for showing her mother a fake look. Her mother was a great story teller after all. Most of the time, her mother would give the story a little twist of her own and squeeze in some extra scenes in the middle, thus, making the story a little unpredictable for her.

Kaoru's mother's stories always ended up with blissful endings, where the hero and heroine lived a happy life at the end. But that was until. . .one night when. . .

Instead of coming to her room, her mother had set up a tent in their backyard and called her down for a little camping trip/experience. They brought with them a pair of sleeping bags, a bag of marshmallows, a lamp, and all other necessities of what a real camping trip should be bringing. Her mother played a tune with the shamisen, a three-stringed musical instrument, while she sang to her heart's content a campfire song she had heard on television. They went on until their voices ran out on them.

Lying down under the pale blue moonlight and the glittering stars, twirling her little finger on her mother's midnight locks, she was told the story most peculiar to her.

This time, the story centered around a girl who led a princess-like life – born with a silver spoon in her mouth. On the girl's 18th birthday, she was forced into a marriage and with a man she never met. Despite all the reluctance at first, both the man and the young woman learned to love each other. The young couple tied the knot with no objections from either side of the family. But she never thought the happiness to end so soon. A week after she got back from her honeymoon, her husband's distant cousin lured her to a room and there she was sexually harassed and got raped. Furious, her husband left her, proclaiming she cheated on him. While the distant cousin had also disappeared like a vapor, leaving no trace behind. The girl, divorced after a month's wedding, was thrown again to live in the countryside. And at the young age of 18, she was already expecting her first child without a father in sight.

Kaoru never got a wink of sleep that night. She spent the whole night interrogating the certain story that ended tragically. Was the young girl _ever_ tied to a man with a red string? Or was she simply never _destined_ to find a partner to begin with? And definitely, there was something odd and significant about the story.

Curiosity got to her and she never felt so excited to go home from school. She burst in through the door and dashed her way to the kitchen. It was empty. The water was left to boil unattended and the toaster burning the slice of bread to a crisp. She called out to her mother at the top of her lungs while pushing every door open only to find nothing. Little rivers of tears began to stream down her face as she found every room empty. The last room she checked was where her mother had been all along, in the bathroom, on the floor drowned with her own sweat, gasping for air, and a trail of blood ran down her thighs.

She never got the true story behind the tragic tale her mother had told her.

It wasn't until a year later when she heard the adults gossiping about her and her mother. And that was when she found out that the last one her mother had told her was her mother's own tale of "the red string of fate".

**-:o:-**

Kaoru held her breath, suppressing with all her might the tears that threatened to fall any time soon, her knuckles turning white as she balled her hands into fist. She glanced at her left and sighed in relief when she saw the old woman sleeping soundly beside her.

She didn't want anyone to see her tears. She didn't want anyone to see her weak side. She didn't want people to see her pathetic self. Not anymore.

She never wants to see those pity looks the adults had given her again.

"Mom," Kaoru whispered softly, looking out through her half-rolled down window, "I can't see it but is my string tied to this man? If it is, is it tied firmly?" she continued as she gazed down at her right pinky and stroked it gently with her thumb.

Kaoru never had a crush on someone, thinking that it was easier not to love. But now, at the age of 17, she was about to walk the same path as her mother did. Sitting at the back seat inside a black Mercedes Benz, she was now on her way to meet the said man.

She closed her eyes as she felt her eyelids going heavy on her.

And behind those closed eyelids, a faceless man with fiery red hair fluttering in the wind came into view.

**-:o:-**

**A Question: **Do you believe in the red string of fate?

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**~o0o~**

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A/N: And there you have it. Kaoru's own tale of "the red thread of destiny" unfolding, slowly but gradually. What kind of destiny will the red thread bring forth to Kaoru?

This was originally supposed to be a new story entitled "The Red Thread" but with the back-to-school crap approaching in less than 3 weeks, well, you know already right? I'll try to make the next chapter longer and with more dialogues. I want to finish the story soon too.

Oh yeah, if there's a similar plot you know, then please inform me and without second thoughts, I'll immediately abandon this fic. Why? Coz continuing this is not really different from rewriting the similar plot. It would seem like I stole the plot and simply revised the whole story using my own words. Also, I wouldn't want to waste my precious time on some story that's already been told. So please, let me know, okay?

*Honestly, I was mentally disturbed while writing this one.


End file.
